His research interests at Colorado State will focus on the thermodynamics of nanoscale self-assembly processes in block copolymer composite materials and their applications in a variety of environments, including polymer-based photovoltaics, bio-enzymatic fuel cells, chemical and biological sensing devices, targeted chemical delivery, and hydrogel-based shape memory materials.

Computational and Theoretical ChemistryWe employ computational and theoretical chemistry tools to study phenomena in Biology. In particular we are interested in how Biology achieves control of energy transduction and self-assembly. Protein-DNA complexes provide a nice set of basis set for such studies.

Prof. Menoni’s research bridges from material to optical sciences. She is engaged in the growth and characterization of high bandgap oxide materials for the engineering of interference coatings for high power lasers. She is also actively involved in using bright coherent beams of light of wavelengths between 10-50 nm for optics applications such as imaging and ablation.

Predictions and designs of new reactions, reagents, and catalysts are tested through close collaboration with experiment. Guided by mechanistic investigation we develop tools to design more selective catalysts for asymmetric synthesis and renewable energy applications. Group members explore these areas using techniques in quantum chemistry, statistical modeling and data-mining alongside laboratory work.

Theoretical characterization of reaction mechanisms in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, new electronic structure techniques, development of force fields or model potentials for chemical reactivity studies.

Organic and biological chemistry, new synthetic methodology, synthesis of chemically and biologically interesting natural products and study of their molecular mechanisms of action, study of enzymatic reaction mechanisms and development of therapeutic agents.

Synthesis of natural products of biomedical significance and development of synthetic methodology for the construction of complex target molecules, design and synthesis of active site activated irreversible enzyme inhibitors, asymmetric synthesis of of alpha-amino acids, mechanism of action studies on anti-tumor drugs and antibiotics, oxidative cleavage and cross-linking of DNA, total synthesis and biogenesis of mycotoxic indole alkaloids from fungi, taxol biosynthesis, design and synthesis of antibiotics for drug-resistant microbial diseases, molecular biology and protein bioichemistry.